Category / Response to current events

(wow it’s been a long time hasn’t it?)

Lately, I’ve been reading facebook posts and comments regarding celebrities and their political views. The most frequent one is “Why doesn’t ____ share their political view / talk about politics?”

This kind of baffles me, because even though celebrities have more of an influence than the “average Joe”, does it really matter what they think? We all have our own political views based on preconceived notions and research. I’m pretty sure there are few people in this world who align their views according to the views of their favourite celebrity.

If you need a celebrity to help you form your political views, then do you really have any?

In the grand scheme of things, they don’t have much power. Sure, they may remind you to call your senator and complain, but politics isn’t their day job.

Like this:

The 2016 election was hellish. It was vile, it was hate filled, and it was emotionally taxing for many people.

I don’t remember an election season being this hate filled. I remember 2012 being civil, with the most exciting part being the presidential debates. As much as I didn’t like McCain, he treated Obama with respect, and vice versa.

This election season though, was an example to never follow again. Every time I opened Facebook, I would see another *clickbait* headline either smearing Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Every day there would be a new headline, and after a while, you get kind of sick of it.

As much as I am scared for the Trump & Pence presidency, I’m more saddened than shocked by their win. I understand why many Americans would vote him. Not everyone who voted for him are white bigoted supremacists who hate women and the LGBTQ+ community. Some people have seen no change in the past eight years with President Obama. These people don’t understand that Congress has been against him every step of the way, and have made it impossible to get anything passed. To these people, Hillary is just Obama with a vagina. In their eyes, voting for her was not voting for change. They were not well informed, and Trump seemed to be the best option.

As a #pro-choice person, I fear that Pence will try his hardest to overturn Roe v. Wade, which was passed by the Supreme Court to protect a woman’s right to an abortion. Even though President Obama has signed a document that prevents Planned Parenthood from being de-funded and possibly abolished, a woman’s right to her own body will no doubt be challenged.

Pence is not a closet homophobe, he’s openly against the LGBTQ+ community and proud of it. He’s even supportive of conversion therapy (which is basically electrocuting the homosexuality out of LGBTQ+ people). I am extremely worried for every LGBTQ+ person in America, because I know that more will choose to stay in the closet in fear of being discriminated against, and fear of being attacked.

If you’re a woman, a person who identifies as LGBTQ+, African-American, Latino/Latina, Muslim, a Person of Colour, or anyone else who refuses to accept bigotry and hate, please go protest and make your voice heard. You have a right to feel safe, to feel respected, and to feel loved.

Don’t forget to keep your loved ones close, and hug them often.

Make allies with people, because many are fighting the same fight you are.

Earlier today or late yesterday, the University of Chicago’s Dean said that they will not provide safe spaces and trigger warnings for its students. This is to promote free thinking, inclusion of all ideas, and free speech.

I’m all about free speech (to a degree, hate speech should not be promoted) and free thinking and inclusion, but to not provide safe spaces and trigger warnings is problematic.

For one, these two things are not there solely for “special snowflakes”to use when they feel offended by the smallest things.

Safe spaces and trigger warnings are there for students who feel oppressed, mentally not okay or targeted, to use as an aid. For those with depression and anxiety or are mentally not healthy, trigger warnings are especially necessary. If the content showed in class will/might make a person suffer a panic attack, think of traumatizing experiences, or cry, then what good does that do? For veterans, if showing a clip about the war in Iraq, Afghanistan or any other place will trigger their PTSD, what’s the good? You’re making them suffer when they don’t have to. For a student who has either witnessed suicide, or has a friend who has committed suicide, then discussing suicide rates or discussing the topic will only make them think about their traumatic experience.

Safe spaces are places where students who feel targeted can eat lunch, take a nap, study or do whatever without constantly being on the lookout for hate and abuse. If a LGBTQ+ student is getting shit because of their gender or sexual orientation, why can’t they have a place to be themselves? If a POC is being targeted for their skin colour, why don’t they deserve a place to call home while at school? By not providing safe spaces, you’re giving their bullies the upper hand.

Obviously, safe spaces and trigger warnings aren’t the solution. They’re merely stepping stones to better mental health counselling and better education that deals with issues regarding oppression. More funding needs to be allocated to these issues, and less for building a new stadium or hiring a famous professor when there are already numerous teaching the same subject.

I’m in favour of gender neutral bathrooms. #repealHB2

Even though I am a genderqueer person who uses the pronoun “she”, I completely understand when genderqueer people don’t feel comfortable using gendered bathrooms. The same goes for transgender people, especially those who feel unsafe using gendered bathrooms.

I am so glad that Simon Fraser University, the school I attend, has recently built quite a few gender neutral bathrooms as well as gender neutral wheelchair friendly bathrooms. Not only are they present, they are also very clean and well built.

During Pride Week, SFU changed all the flags to rainbow pride flags, and it is amazing that this school welcomes and embraces the LGBTQ+ community with open arms.

I am very proud to be at a school that doesn’t stand for bigotry and hatred.

Like this:

I still haven’t collected all my thoughts yet. But I needed to get them out.

So. Orlando.

First of all, a beautiful and talented 22 years young woman named Christina Grimmie was murdered last Friday night. She was in the middle of a meet & greet / signing when she was shot multiple times. Her brother said that she opened her arms to the gunman, assuming he was going to hug her. Instead, her entire life was ripped away from her. Her family losing a daughter and a sister. Her friends losing a sweet and caring friend. And the world lost a talented creator and musician. Security at her concert failed her. More importantly, America failed her.

When I read about it late Friday night, I burst into tears. I cried Saturday as well. It was painful standing in an amusement park letting kids on rides and hoping that they’d all live to be 80.

I woke up Sunday seeing the hashtag #prayfororlando trending. After I found what had occurred, I was in shock for the rest of the day. Who would hate the fantastic beautiful shining LGBTQ+ community so much that the only option was to take away 49 lives? The lives of 49 men and women who were unabashedly afraid to be themselves. The lives of 49 people who still came out despite the stigma around LGBTQ+ issues and the community. The lives of 49 people who had their whole lives ahead of them to follow their dreams, or get married, or live and love to the fullest.

As a genderqueer person, this news hits so close to home. I’m a part of the LGBTQ+ community and I sometimes don’t realize just how much hatred we still get on a daily basis.

Isn’t it ironic how members of congress send out tweets asking people to pray for the victims’ families when they had such a big hand in murdering them?

In the 7 and a bit years President Obama has been in office, he has had to make 15 addresses for the aftermath of a shooting. In the time he’s been in office, he has also proposed 25 changes to America’s gun laws.

Not a single one has been passed by congress.

It angers me so much that the NRA pays each member of congress who’s against gun regulation around $1,000,000 each year. All this money is just a congratulatory reward to thank them for keeping their mouths shut and their votes pro gun.

What will it take for congress to realize the big picture? To realize that they’re killing the people they should be protecting? Will it have to come to one of their daughters getting shot? Will it be enough?

Like this:

The other day, my mom told me of a female college student from Boston, MA who committed suicide because she was recently raped by a person from the same university.

This bit of information hit me extremely hard because suicide is not something you talk lightly about. And also because I’ve experienced firsthand what the suicide of a friend does to you emotionally and psychologically. It fucks you up. Badly. It fills you with guilt, because you’re beating yourself up over why you didn’t try harder to save them when it wasn’t even your fault in the first place.

I wonder if the rapist thought about the possibility of his victim ending her life when he did it. I wonder if he even thought of his victim as a human being capable of self destruction when he did it. I wonder if he even remembered that he was possibly ruining a young girl’s life when he did it.

“13% of rape victims attempt suicide” – Women Vote PA

If you think about this statistic, 13% is a lot of people. That’s 1 in every 7.5 people. Count all the friends you know that are rape survivors, and if you know 7-8 people, then 1 of them might end their lives. More importantly, if you’re a person who isn’t against rape/would rape someone, reflect on the above stat, and imagine if your sister/brother/best friend/girlfriend/boyfriend was the 1 out of 7.5, would you still have the same mindset?

I also wonder. I wonder if the rapist is someone who wants a power trip so bad that he/she is willing to damage another human being beyond repair for it; or if he/she is just an asshole who doesn’t think of the consequences of his/her actions.